Bringing people together after a year of being shut in, Sand City’s cornhole league is a runaway hit.

It’s just past 6pm on Thursday, Aug. 12 and Marina resident Joe Burnett, along with dozens of other baggers, is readying to play some cornhole in the Sand City Art Park. “It’s kind of like March Madness, every week,” Burnett says. “And it’s been great to meet some new folks, especially after Covid.”

Burnett is referring to the weekly cornhole league that Sand City started July 1, which, in its inaugural season, has been held in the new park every Thursday at 6pm.

Burnett is soon joined by his teammate Pat Kuhl, and together they comprise the Marina Condors (so named because Burnett is a biologist at Ventana Wildlife Society), and the two friends haven’t missed a tourney yet. And like several other teams present, they are both cornhole enthusiasts and they’ve brought their own custom bags.

When asked about the layout of cornhole sets, they note that they are placed – per regulations set by the American Cornhole Association – 27 feet apart from front to front.

As he’s playing his first game, Burnett explains some of the finer points. “When you get it right in the hole, you call it airman,” Burnett says. “That’s cornhole lingo.”

But Burnett doesn’t airman enough in his first game, and the Condors lose 21-10 to Insert Corny Name Here – but they’re not dead yet, as the tournaments are double elimination.

Nearby, Jorge Sanchez, whose team Seaside Baggers won its first game, is waiting for his next game and itching for redemption. “We lost in the finals last week, and we’re looking for our revenge.”

The weather is fine, tunes are bumping from loudspeakers, and more than three dozen people are lined up along the edges of the mural-filled park, either playing or spectating, and many of them are eating food from the Paqueteria El Peregrino taco truck parked near the entrance, a weekly staple at the tourney. Even more of them are drinking beer they’ve brought in, and several spectators and players alike have set up lawn chairs.

“It’s fun, right?” says Conrad Geronimo, who’s playing for The Teabaggers. “This area needs this. Seaside and Sand City, they don’t get a lot of attention.”

“It’s kind of like March Madness, every week.”

The weekly tournaments are emceed by Sand City Community Services Coordinator Shelby Gorman, who every few minutes announces the next match through a microphone and corrals the players into action.

A few feet from her are Kaitlin Emmons and Gabby James – The Geans Machine – who’ve played in every tournament so far, and who, Shelby confirms, always wear blazers.

“It’s for the thrill factor,” James says, smiling. “This week it’s business casual.”

The way the league works is simple: After a team pays a one-time $20 registration fee, they’re free to play in any of the Thursday tournaments they want. The last regular tournament of this first season will be Sept. 9, and the following Saturday, Sept. 11 at 2pm is the championship, where Gorman will tally up the win totals of the various teams and seed them accordingly. The idea behind doing it on the weekend, Gorman says, is so everyone can bring their friends and family. (She adds there will more seasons ahead.)

By the time daylight fades and the strings of overhead lights come on, only a few teams are left standing. Many of the eliminated players have left, but there’s about a couple dozen people who’ve stuck around to watch the finals.

As the players on tonight’s two finalists – the Seaside Baggers and The Great Cornholios – take their positions, Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” starts pumping out of the speakers, ratcheting up the tensions.

It’s a back-and-forth bout, but the moment of truth comes when the Baggers come into a round with a slim 18-17 lead. With Blondie’s “Call Me” now on the speakers, some clutch throws drop into the hole. When the score is tallied up, the Baggers have sealed victory, 21-17.

The mood is convivial, as the players that have remained talk about their nights with each other, and say their goodbyes until next Thursday, when they’ll have a fresh shot at glory.